Judy= Thank you. My Spanish/Latin guest= Your right is a terrible city for refugees. Thanks for the encouragement.

"If you can call them that," she said derisively. "Abigail was my husband's younger sister. Jerome, my husband took her in for two years after their parents died. She married a butcher from Kirkwall while he was in Ferelden buying sheep for the slaughterhouse. When the blight began, we didn't expect it to hit South Reach as quickly as it did.

She said that Jerome could bring the children and stay with them until the blight was over. Jerome and my son could work with her husband in the shop. But once we got here, the city was closed to refuges and the only way you could get inside was with exorbitant bribes. Her husband wasn't willing to pay the bribes. So, I did what I had to do to get us in thinking that once in they wouldn't leave us out in the cold.

The bastard assumed that without a husband I would keep his bed warm too. When I wouldn't… well here I … we are."

When she turned to face me, her chest was a mass of color. Greenish, purples of old healing bruises, pinkish just healed abrasions and bright red splotches of recent injuries. Her back, arms and thighs fared no better.

At that moment, I wanted to take my staff and beat every man who used a prostitute into unconsciousness. "Forgive me for asking, but as I look at you, wouldn't it have been better to sell yourself to one man verses every man."

She stiffened and her chin jerked up defiantly as she made move to put her gown back on.

"Don't please. I am not judging. Just trying to understand. Your girls would be safe, with plenty of food, clean clothes and a warm bed. And the abuse you are taking, I am assuming your brother in law wouldn't leave you needing healers."

She sighed as my fingers caressed her back, pushing mana into her body causing the skin to close over open abrasions. I walked around to her front and tenderly ran my fingers over her face following the contours. By magic, her injuries went away one by one. Within minutes, physically she wasn't the same person I met when I first arrived.

"Tell me, if you could return to Ferelden this moment, would you?"

She pulled her tattered dress over her head and without pausing almost shouted yes.

I tried not to chuckle too loudly as I didn't want her to think I was making fun of her. "Good to know. What would you do? Go back to your sheep farm?"

"I don't know if I can go back there without Jerome. He and my son took care of the animals. I would weave the wool into skeins to sell. I don't think I could be successful on my own."

I shrugged and moved away from her. "There are always things that can be done to make that not an issue. My question is would you want to. If not, would you be interested in selling the land and stock back to the Bann so he can bring on someone who might want to."

She wrung her hands, "I don't know. Jerome and I spent the last fifteen years making that a home. All of my children were born there. My men died there."

"I understand. And you have a little bit to think about it. But if you are planning on returning to Ferelden then you are going to have to consider it."

"How am I supposed to get enough coin for passage back to Ferelden when I can't even get enough to feed my children and myself?" Her tone was snide and hopeless at the same time.

By this time, I was pacing. I had an idea, but I couldn't put it into place without talking to the king. And I hadn't found Alistair yet to go in that direction. But knowing them, I couldn't leave this family in Darktown. "Then work for me."

She snorted. "You're not the type that's interested in other women."

I give a wry smile, not more than a pull at the corner of my mouth. "I can't say I'm interested in men at the moment either. But the work I need is help with other Ferelden refugees. I need to know how many are here in Kirkwall. And how many are interested in going home."

"Every Ferelden here I imagine."

"Good. Then we just need to get a firm count of how many are here in Kirkwall and where they came from in Ferelden."

"You want me to do it? When? I owe Brekker one hundred silvers per night. As long as I am here, I will owe him. And he will force me to pay."

I was trying to remain patient. I had given her a lifeline expecting her to jump at the chance not to sell herself anymore. But she was being difficult.

I'll admit I was doing it partially for myself. I needed help and didn't know how much I could rely on Alistair. "Fine then our first task is to get you out of here. What did you say your brother in laws name was, and where do they live?"

She paled and stuttered her way through all the reasons this wasn't a good idea. "I told you why we couldn't go there. After suffering for the last two years here in Darktown there is no way I am going there with my tail between my legs and beg for a place to stay."

I grinned one thing I worked on during my travels was my coercion levels. "Oh, he will be begging you to come and stay with them. On our terms."

She laughed at me and said, "And who do you think you are to convince him to do that?"

I handed her one of the meat pies and said, "Someone the King of Ferelden sent to sort this mess out."